Colloidally synthesized defect-rich MoSe2 nanosheets for superior catalytic activity

Md Samim Hassan, Atanu Jana, Soniya Gahlawat, Nimai Bhandary, Susnata Bera, Pravin P. Ingole, Sameer Sapra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanosheets (NSs) with defect-rich and vertically aligned edges are highly advantageous for various catalytic applications. However, colloidal synthesis of defect-rich NSs with thickness variation has been a challenging task. Here, we report a colloidal synthesis of 2H-MoSe2 NSs having a large number of defects and vertically aligned edges, where the thickness is varied by changing the amount of coordinating solvent. The Se-vacancies in these NSs have introduced defect sites which are corroborated by the presence of additional vibration modes in Raman spectra. These NSs exhibit electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction performances with a low overpotential (210-225 mV) at 10mAcm-2 current density and a small Tafel slope (54-68 mV per decade). Moreover, these MoSe2 NSs are also employed as counter electrodes (CEs) for the fabrication of dye sensitized solar cells via a cost-effective and simplified procedure. The power conversion efficiencies of 7.02 ±0.18%, comparable with Pt CE (7.84±0.10%) could be routinely achieved. These results demonstrate a novel synthetic strategy to prepare layered TMDs with superior catalytic applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article number74
JournalBulletin of Materials Science
Volume42
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2019

Keywords

  • Counter electrode
  • Dye sensitized solar cells
  • Hydrogen evolution reaction
  • MoSe2 nanosheets
  • Transition metal dichalcogenides

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